rule of law, democratic principles of elections, judiciary independence and separation of powers. By way
of elevating itself to the status of being the supreme law, it also means that these constitutional values
become the supreme principles to guide any other kind of law and conduct in Zimbabwe. This is what
was missing in the current Lancaster House constitution. Although it declared itself as the supreme law,
the Lancaster House constitution did not embody democratic values and therefore Zimbabwe had what
could be called ‘empty’ constitutionalism rather than ‘substantive’ constitutionalism. Under this draft,
there is clear separation of powers, with guaranteed independence and relatively sufficient checks and
balances amongst the three arms of government.
Devolution of powers: There has been a massive demand for devolution of powers in Zimbabwe, as a
mechanism of promoting popular participation in governance. While this draft constitution entrenches
the principle of devolution of powers from the national to the provincial and local governments as a
fundamental value, it does not devolve the powers! Without providing for the powers to be devolved,
the essence of devolution of powers is undermined. Therefore, there is likely to be a continuation of the
current situation where political power is centralized within the national or rather central government
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